Replanting a flower bed – Rip it up and start again relaying flower bed, replanting flower border, dividing perennials, splitting plants
One of the first beds I planted about 6 years ago has looked tired throughout the year. Some of the plants did not really get going, while others seemed swamped. Large daffodils were still going in July, their unruly leaves spilling and spoiling. It just was not working, so it’s time to consider replanting a flower bed.
Extended dry periods have taken their toll
What I need to do is dig it all up, remove the weeds that were sneaking in, and replant with a fresh layout. Some bargains from the garden centre will help to diversify and extend the season as well.
Earlier this year I removed a large Stipa Gigantea from this bed, splitting it into five. This left a gap that I filled with Lupins and Achillea, mainly because I had lots of them. Some of them have established, but the dry summer took its toll.I will increase the number of Rudbeckia here, making the drift larger.
When replanting a flower bed the first job is to decide what stays and what goes. Any surplus – in this case most significantly Crocosmia George Davison – are split and potted up. These are useful for passing on to friends or clients in need of a border filler.
Dig it all out, start again
I split and replanted some Iris siberica, Iris germanica and hemerocalis. Stipa tenuissima have been brushed out and replanted closer to the back.
Daffodils are replanted further back, so wilting foliage will be hidden amongst new growth.
There were also a few large Verbascum – mulleins – that grow over six feet tall with towers of yellow flower. The large leaves smother anything growing close by, so I have trimmed back the foliage and hope they can make do.
The space created allowed for some additional Heleniums to go in, something I have been building stocks of slowly, but not fast enough. The garden centre had some reduced from £9 to £3 in the sale, along with some Helianthus and Kniphofia,
Tidier, and ready to mulch for winter
I had put off this job, in part due to being busy, but also because such projects can be quite daunting. But it actually only took three hours. Achievable in a morning or afternoon with time to spare!
Local gardener Bourne End, garden design Bourne End, planting plan Bourne End
Hot bed, hot colours Creating a tropical garden with hot colours, design cut flower bed
Earlier this year I planted out a secluded south facing bed with a hot and tropical feel, hot bed, hot colours. This tropical feel garden, with hot colours for cut flowers catches the sun all day and would be in view from our main outdoor summer seating area .
This area is currently occupied by lots of Nerines, so flowers for the late summer were already ahead. A Musa Basjoo Banana (£5 from a nursery at J1 on the M40) was key to the tropical feel. It just oozes tropics. Anchoring the bed at either end are Helianthus Lemon Queen and Romneya, the California Poppy Tree.
Filling in the spaces I used Zinnias grown from seed, Oesteospurmums from cuttings, and lots of bright Dahlias.
The objective of providing cut flowers from this bed would be bolstered by my first attempt at growing Alstromeria, the peruvian lilly. These are included as I read that they stay fresh in a vase for 3 weeks. I bought them mail order, and about half of them grew. Not ideal, but enough growing strongly to make up for losses.
Some Agapanthus I had been given are dotted in, with a view to them establishing to flower in forthcoming years.
So all planted and promises of hot coloured cut flowers all summer.
This bed also happens to be overlooked from my hallway, so is what we see coming downstairs in the morning. And what any visitors see when entering the house.
It started slowly, and I thought the dry summer would wipe out much if it. Not only did it survive, but it has thrived. The area is now our first call for cut flowers. They have been abundant from June and still plentiful going into October.
Hot bed, hot colours, lessons learned
I was caught out by the late season exuberance, and found many plants were not adequately supported. This meant they leaned forward into the grass path, and left the back of the bed looking open.
As the season went on bigger plants leaned in too far. Nerines came out early this year, in the past they’ve not shown until late October.
Some thought into what plants go where, and some discrete canes, should solve that for next year. And some planning to get through the dry weather. I will add further loads of compost. And install a leaky pipe irrigation system there, to make sure the water gets right down below the foliage and into the roots.
And the proof of the pudding? You can see that it is still bringing spectacular colour, especially for a cheap and fast go at a hot bed, hot colours idea. And especially compared to the perennials borders that lose colour fast from October.
And the great thing is that it will only get better. I love it!
Overall it met the brief, hot colours all summer long
Everyone needs a compost heap
What if I told you there was a cheap and easy way to significantly reduce the amount of work to do in your garden?
Well, there is. It does require an investment in time to start with, but pays in the long term. So if you are a long game player, this can give you time to enjoy your garden rather than be a slave to it.
Gardening here in the Thames Valley in even a modest garden will generate vast amounts of waste vegetative material. You could put in your fortnightly green bin collection, or put the majority of to work to – quite inexpensively – improving your own soil. What everyone needs is a compost heap.
Time – or money – invested in the soil will bring returns through healthy, vigorous and longer lived plants. It does not have to cost anything. A few pallets will cost little, certainly not as much as a purpose made plastic “dalek” compost bin, and will be easier to use. I prefer to use a little time rather than spend money on compost. Its good exercise too, so no need to buy a gym membership!
The requirements for making a good compost heap
First an incentive. Eventually you’ll be able to forget about having to dig over beds to remove weeds and condition the soil; let nature do it for you. Creating compost is serving your garden a high energy meal, and the various insects that enjoy it will do all the hard work for you.
A compost heap is not going to look pretty, so find somewhere discrete to keep it, even if that means building a screen to hide it. And all it has to do is contain the materials and hold them together so the beneficial bacteria that break down the plant matter can heat up and work effectively. No need to buy anything expensive mail order.
Home composting is about recycling, and saving money. No need to buy something to look pretty.
Key to success is allowing air and water into the compost heap. You could regularly turn the compost, allowing oxygen in and the materials to be mixed, but that can be hard work. Your container needs to retain heat and moisture, so the contents can degrade faster. So locating it in direct sunlight can help, though is not essential; mine are all in shaded areas and work fine, if a little more slowly.
A balanced mixture of materials – soft grass and thicker woodier materials – will make it work better and faster. Adding cardboard or paper to separate layers will also help. Having a large amount of grass without other items to let air in will result in a nasty smelly unusable mess. A low-maintenance heap has brown and green plant matter, plus some moisture to keep the good bacteria going. If you have a hedge mow the clippings, and also any fallen leaves, as they contribute to the brown matter. And any not cooked kitchen waste is equally welcome.
Remember to only add materials in combination to keep a good moisture balance and create air pockets.
Compost care. You’ll have seen on TV programmes how the gardeners have 4 or more cages which empty into each other and hence turn the compost. Back in reality we have no time or space or interest in that. But you can create your heap so that tumbling, turning or rolling it is easier. My article on the perfect compost bin is an example.
Add material regularly to keep feeding the bacteria, and keep the pile covered to retain heat. Turn the heap as it rots down, best about once a fortnight, but at least every 4-6 weeks. Or just add the waste well mixed. Or build an easy to manage heap, as I have experimented with .And keep it damp; dry compost won’t rot down.
You want to create something that looks and smells a little like potting compost you’d buy. Most important is that the right balance of mixed materials allows for air and water penetration. The better that mixture is, the less requirement there is to turn the heap.
The golden rules of compost heap
Make the heap as big as you can manage, in terms of managing but also in terms of what it will produce. Compost will need a certain amount of mass before it can get going, so don’t skimp.
Keep the heap moist. It should feel damp to the touch, like a wrung out cloth..
Always combine different materials, even if its just grass and cardboard with a few kitchen scraps.
Don’t put in the invasive and difficult weeds or their seeds, they are better in the regular waste collection.
The science is simple, and natural. Add materials that will rot when exposed to air and water, mix occasionally and out comes the elixir that makes your garden grow.
In my garden in Bourne End I have a soil that is heavy with clay. It retains moisture, and so many things rot over winter. In the summer it’s impenetrable, like rock. The gradual addition of compost has made the soil a crumbly easy to work texture that allows plants to expand their roots and flourish. Water drains away freely, but enough is retained. It has solved gardening paradox No 1 for me: well drained moisture retentive. I used to get frustrated about how one could find this utopia, but the compost heap has supplied it. And there are other benefits, in addition to the £300 or more that I don’t have to spend on the same volume of bought in compost to put on my beds.
Some old pallets for a few pounds each will do just as well, and let you make a heap as you want it.
Benefits of adding compost to your beds
Soil structure is improved, retaining moisture in sandy soils and allowing drainage in sticky or clay soils. Having an open structure prevents the surface from sealing or crusting. Water can penetrate, where a crusted surface just sees water drain off and away from the plants.
An open soil will not compact so easily, which is better for the plants to get roots into, and insects to carry on their livelihoods, working the compost into the soil for you. Depending on what you put into the compost, it can neutralise your soil PH, making it more suitable for more plants.
And it saves you having to buy material to make your garden grow. Just spread it on twice a year and let nature do it for you. The more you do it, the better the garden is for it, and the easier it becomes to work it. And the garden will also generate more materials to go into the compost heap.
And the circle is complete. So if you want to start one autumn may be the perfect time. You’ll have lots of waste to cut down and no room left in the green bin. Its easier and quicker than taking it to the dump, and it’ll save you a packet next year. After a couple of years you’ll have less hard digging to do, and less plants to throw away that have died through too much or not enough water. Win, win, win.
June when borders are without flower
Mind the June gap. I have only become aware of this supposed null period in the borders in the last few years, but I have to ask “what gap?”
June gap refers to a period, usually June when borders are without flower. It is the time after spring bulbs have gone, and before the herbaceous border kicks in. This is, in theory, boring for plantsmen and gardeners, and critical for bee keepers. Bees without flowers to feed on can be a catastrophe.
But in my Thames Valley plot I have to ask “what gap?” I am not without flower in any of my borders with any aspect. In fact, I can already barely keep up with dead heading day lillies. It is a great chance to spend 10 mins morning and evening with a cup of tea (or glass of something cool later) taking in what is actually going on.
I have found one or two plants not maturing as they should, and hence being fenced in by their more vigorous neighbours. And a couple of gaps where there should have been something by now; that is where my pots of Dahlias will come into their own, as gap pluggers.
Non-stop flowering
Roses are starting to flower freely, there are foxgloves everywhere. Geranium Wargrave Pink is so prolific that I have had to make the first cut backs.
Not a “Chelsea chop”, but more a back to earth and start again.
There are late contributions from bulbs in the form of Camassia leichtlinii Alba, a happy mistake of packing as I am sure I ordered blue. The cream white flowers that progress up the stem ave reached halfway, whereas the blue form were finished in early May.
And the Alliums are in various stages of growth; Purple Sensation out and some nearly done, and Christophii just emerging.
The East border with plenty of flower for bee and gardener
Plants to fill the June gap
Otherwise perennials have taken over with Digitalis, Verbascum, Geranium, Iris Siberica, Antirrhinum, Lupin and Papaver leading the way.
Delphinium and Lychnis ready to join Iris and Geranium in flower
